In a recent story, ESPN analytics writer Zach Kram offered a defining number for each NBA team. The idea is for each number to explain their approximate position entering the 2025-26 season.

For the Rockets, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Houston’s number pertains to offense. The Rockets were already a top-five-rated defense last season, so any improvement offensively could make the team elite.

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Kram’s numerical choice for the Rockets was 1.21, and it’s correlated with the arrival of All-Star forward Kevin Durant. The ESPN story explains:

The Rockets were an excellent team in almost all facets this past season, but one weakness cost them dearly. Houston ranked just 22nd in half-court scoring efficiency, per Cleaning the Glass, which was the worst of any playoff team, and proved particularly unable to get buckets in one-on-one matchups.

Houston scored 0.91 points per isolation play, according to GeniusIQ, in both the regular season and postseason; only the Jazz, Wizards and Raptors scored at a worse rate from their isolations. None of Houston’s perimeter players could create consistently good looks against set defenders, as Fred VanVleet (15th percentile among players with at least 100 isos), Amen Thompson (15th percentile), and Jalen Green (12th percentile) struggled.

Enter Kevin Durant, who isn’t just better than the Rockets’ previous options, but led the whole league in isolation efficiency this past season, with 1.21 points per iso. The Rockets had one weakness, and they solved it. With Durant taking control of the offense in late-game scenarios, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the West.

In summary: The Rockets were the fourth-worst isolation team last season, and they added the player who led the entire NBA in isolation efficiency. Furthermore, the presence of Durant could perhaps lead to easier opportunities for the young and developing players around him, such as Thompson and All-Star center Alperen Sengun.

So long as Durant doesn’t suffer an age-related decline at 37, it should be a seamless fit as head coach Ime Udoka maps out his 2025-26 game plans. For a team that already owned the second-best record in the Western Conference (52-30) even before adding Durant, it’s a good place to be.

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More: ESPN projects Rockets to finish 54-28 next season, No. 2 in Western Conference

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: With Kevin Durant in Houston, isolation scoring is no longer a problem